Schizoidal political pathology and its resonance from Hobbes to Marx to Strauss

“The tragic role played by hereditary hemophilia among European royalty is well known. Responsible people in countries where the system of monarchy still survives are anxious not to allow a carrier of such a gene to become queen. Any society exercising so much concern over individuals with blood-coagulation insufficiency or other serious and life-threatening pathology would protest if a man afflicted with such a condition were appointed to a high office bearing responsibility for many people. This behavior model should be extended to many pathologies, including inherited psychological anomalies.” (Lobaczewski, 120)

The early appearance of psychopathic behavior in children, and the similarity with some forms of brain damage, are evidence of the genetic and biological basis for psychopathy. Certain inherited, and thus irreversible, psychopathies play an important role in the genesis evil on the macrosocial level, while others play lesser roles. These include many commonly known personality disorders.

Note: According to Lobaczewski, the study of psychopathology was further advanced in Eastern European than in current Western psychiatry. While current personality inventories may be useful in accurate diagnosis, they are not useful in differentiating between various personality disorders. As such, using Western terminology, a schizoid may be diagnosed as schizoid and/or paranoid personality disorder. An essential psychopath may be diagnosed as narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder. Keeping this in mind, we here present Lobaczewski's descriptions of the various psychopathies, along with the closest Western diagnosis.

SCHIZOIDAL PSYCHOPATHY

“[Schizoids] are hypersensitive and distrustful, while, at the same time, pay little attention to the feelings of others. They tend to assume extreme positions, and are eager to retaliate for minor offenses. Sometimes they are eccentric and odd. Their poor sense of psychological situation and reality leads them to superimpose erroneous, pejorative interpretations upon other people’s intentions. They easily become involved in activities which are ostensibly moral, but which actually inflict damage upon themselves and others. Their impoverished psychological worldview makes them typically pessimistic regarding human nature.” (Lobaczewski, 123-4)

Emotional Unreality: The main features of schizoidia (or schizoid personality disorder) are dull emotions and a lack of feeling for psychological realities, and it is probably inherited autosomally. Their lack of emotion allows them to develop their speculative reasoning, which is useful in non-humanistic disciplines (e.g., economics and political theory).

Psychotic States: Under experiences of extreme stress, schizoids collapse into a state closely resembling schizophrenia, stifling their capacity for thought.

Schizoidal Declaration: Schizoids often betray their characteristic view of human nature in their statements and writings. “Human nature is so bad that order in human society can only be maintained by a strong power created by highly qualified individuals in the name of some higher idea.” Ironically, normal people, under the influence of schizoids and their twisted view of reality, will tend to fulfill such a view of human nature. Such open schizoidal declarations are apparent in the works of Marx and Engels, Hobbes, and various leading neoconservative intellectuals.

ROLE IN THE ORIGIN OF EVIL

In Relationships: Schizoids often cause their families much trouble and are often poor parents. They are easily manipulated for the benefit of more clever individuals, often playing the role of “patsy”. Their simplistic “black or white” view of human reality often turns their good intentions into bad results.

On Humanity: If schizoidal views are published and widely distributed (like the writings of Marx, or of Leo Strauss), they can play a large role in the origin of evil on a mass scale. When normal people read the work of a schizoid, they are often unaware of the true nature of the author they are reading. Due to their richer psychological worldview, they tend towards a ‘corrective interpretation’ of writing which is, in fact, pathological. In this way, the deviant psychology can also be accepted by naïve individuals. Only with a proper understanding of the pathological nature of this material can one effectively read through it and immunize oneself against infection...MORE...LINK